How's Sage Northcutt doing at Tristar? Rory MacDonald has good news

DUBLIN – UFC welterweight contender Rory MacDonald sees a lot of similarities between himself and lightweight phenom Sage Northcutt – personality not withstanding.

Northcutt (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) recently made a trip to Montreal’s Tristar gym for a trial training session to see if he’d be a good fit with the team. After several days at the facility, Northcutt and head coach Firas Zahabi opted to join forces to help the teenage “Super” prepare for his future fights.

The 19-year-old is still young in his career and needed a training environment that would best suit his development. That narrative is quite similar to MacDonald, who just a few years ago was the young, impressionable, raw talent who walked into the gym made most famous by former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre.

“I was pretty much in the exact spot he was,” MacDonald told MMAjunkie. “I went to Montreal when I was about 20 years old. I’ll help him out as much as possible, and really it’s up to him. It’s an individual sport, and he seems like a hard worker and he’s focused, so I think with his natural athleticism, his hard-working attitude – I think he has a very bright future.”

Northcutt made his UFC debut at UFC 192 earlier this month. He scored a 57-second TKO win over Francisco Trevino to keep his undefeated record intact and has been showered with attention since.

His next fight is already booked; Northcutt returns to the octagon at UFC Fight Night 80 on Dec. 10 when he meets Cody Pfister (12-4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC). The event takes place at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas and streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Under the tutelage of Zahabi, St-Pierre and the rest of the Tristar crew, MacDonald has evolved into one of the top fighters in the world. He’s No. 3 in the NOS Energy Drink MMA welterweight rankings and at 26 has already challenged for a UFC title.

MacDonald, who’s in Dublin for this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 76 event (check out an earlier interview above), believes Northcutt has the potential to reach similar heights and is glad the youngster decided to join the team because it will benefit all involved, he said.

“He’s got great potential; the UFC definitely scooped up a bright kid,” MacDonald said. “It’s exciting. I’m happy he came to Tristar. It was a great experience learning from him and his father. I was asking them questions, and they were showing me some things. I had a great time with them.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 80, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.